The European cruise industry continues toprovide a major contribution to Europe’s economy as a whole and it was the onlyarea of the tourism sector to enjoy substantial growth last year, according tofigures issued today in Brussels by the European Cruise Council (ECC).

Last year there were some 5.5 millionEuropean cruisers (a 10% increase compared to 2009), which works out toapproximately 30% of cruise passengers worldwide (18.8 million cruisers).  The EU countries with the most cruisers arethe UK (1.6 million), Germany (1.2 million), Italy (around 890,000) and Spain (645,000).,figures of the sixth edition of the annual report of the European CruiseContribution show.

In 2010 the European cruise industry alsogrew in terms of the numbers of passengers departing from European ports:  5.2 million (+7.2%).  The overall (direct and indirect) economicimpact of the industry on the continent’s economy last year was 35.2 billioneuros, including over 14 billion euros of direct spending. 

The greatest beneficiaries of this directexpenditure were Italy (4.5 billion euros), the UK (approximately 2.6 billion)and Germany (2.3 billion).  Europeanshipbuilders continue to play an important part in this expansion:  from 2011 to 2014 the continent’s yards willbuild 23 new cruise ships, with a total investment worth almost 11 billioneuros.  The economic impact of the cruiseindustry also contributes very substantially to employment, accounting foraround 300,000 jobs in Europe.